Heartprints

Whatever our hands touch-
We leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture
On doorknobs, dishes, books.
There's no escape.
As we touch we leave our identity.

Oh God, wherever I go today
Help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion
Of understanding and love.
Heartprints of kindness
And genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter
Or an anxious mother
Or perhaps an aged grandfather.

Lord, send me out today
To leave heartprints.
And if someone should say
"I felt your touch,"
May that one sense YOUR LOVE
Touching through ME.

~Author Unknown

The Best Time to Work Out

Is it better to exercise in the morning, or later in the day? Let your circadian rhythms be your guide.

In the afternoon or early evening, your core temperature is warmer. A warm core makes your muscles and joints more supple, which helps you avoid strains and sprains. That makes afternoon or early evening ideal for exercises that tap your muscles, like strength training, stretching, and interval workouts.

Mornings Are for Endurance...

On the other hand, if endurance activities are more your speed -- long brisk walks or bike rides -- morning may be better. Your body’s core is cooler early in the day, which can make endurance activities seem less tiring. And there is less risk of overheating. But a good warm-up will be key, since your muscles are likely to be stiffer in the a.m.


*Source: Realage.com

"The young generally conduct themselves as though the precious hours of probation, while mercy lingers, were one grand holiday and they were placed in this world merely for their own amusement, to be gratified with a continued round of excitement. Satan has been making special efforts to lead them to find happiness in worldly amusements and to justify themselves by endeavoring to show that these amusements are harmless, innocent, and even important for health.
He [Satan] presents the path of holiness as difficult, while the paths of worldly pleasure are strewn with flowers. In false and flattering colors he arrays the world with its pleasures before the youth. But the pleasures of earth will soon come to an end, and that which is sown must also be reaped.
He is in every sense of the word a deceiver, a skillful charmer. He has many finely woven nets, which appear innocent, but which are skillfully prepared to entangle the young and unwary."

-The Adventist Home Ch.83

Help for the Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:3.

All who have a sense of their deep soul poverty, who feel that they have nothing good in themselves, may find righteousness and strength by looking unto Jesus.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Ps. 51:17. Man must be emptied of self before he can be, in the fullest sense, a believer in Jesus. When self is renounced, then the Lord can make man a new creature.

When man has sinned against a holy and merciful God, he can pursue no course so noble as to repent sincerely, and confess his errors in tears and bitterness of soul. This God requires of him; He accepts nothing less than a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access to Him in whom all fullness dwells.

The only reason why we may not have remission of sins that are past is that we are not willing to humble our proud hearts and comply with the conditions.
God is very pitiful, for He understands our weaknesses and our temptations; and when we come to Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits. He accepts our repentance, and promises that, as we take hold of His strength to make peace with Him, we shall make peace with Him. Oh, what gratitude, what joy, should we feel that God is merciful!

The offering most sweet and acceptable in God's sight is a heart made humble by self-denial, by lifting the cross and following Jesus.

The Faith I live by
By EGW

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

~by Robert Frost (1923)

Quick Fix for the Stressed Out

Stressed out because you’ve got too much to do and too little time to do it? Dr. Amy Wechsler has a quick tip to help you make it through without getting fried.

Hum. Yep, literally. Humming has been scientifically proved to boost nitric oxide (NO), a nifty little body gas that, in small doses, has a stress-reducing effect.

Whistle -- Uh, Hum -- While You Work
All of us produce NO in our respiratory tract, according to Wechsler. But it’s produced most notably in the sinuses. Humming affects the airflow between the sinuses and the nasal cavity in a way that creates more NO, a gas that promotes wound healing, new collagen formation, and better blood flow in the skin. Seems those seven dwarves were nearly onto something -- if they’d just tweaked their music-making advice a little. Get more feel-good, look-good tips from Dr. Wechsler’s new book, The Mind-Beauty Connection.

Original RealAge Tip Article at RealAge.com
http://www.realage.com/ct/tips-list/

Spring Poem

When Spring Appears

Meadowlarks
give lusty cheers
when spring appears
when spring appears.

Buds and seeds
prick up their ears
and blades of grass
show eager spears.

And only icicles
weep tears
when spring appears
when spring appears

Author: Aileen Fisher